Torrid Zone (1940)

 

Torrid Zone - 1940

Coming up next we have 1940's "Torrid Zone", a film about a man who restores order to a banana plantation hounded by a Central American revolutionary.

The film's cast includes James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, Andy Devine, Helen Vinson, George Tobias, George Reeves, Frank Puglia, and Grady Sutton.

In Central America, feared revolutionary outlaw Rosario La Mata is on the run.

Also in Central America is American songstress Lee Donley.  The man who runs the town she's in, American banana plantation owner Steve Case, doesn't like her, and wants her out of town.  He directs the chief of police to get her away.

Lee doesn't want to get out of town, and she resents Case forcing her to go.  "Mister, the stork that brought you must've been a vulture," she tells him.

Case gets an old friend of his, Nick Butler, to work for him.  Nick will be taking over the management of Case's banana plantation, where things have gotten lax and the crop that comes to town isn't good.

Lee meets Nick, and things are electric between them.  Seeing her opportunity to avoid returning to America, Lee hides out on Nick's train and accompanies him to the plantation.

When Lee arrives at the banana plantation, she meets Nick's old girlfriend Gloria, the wife of the outgoing plantation manager.  The two fight like cats and dogs.  "Why do you walk around making noises like a lady?  All a guy has to do is wink at you and he hits the jackpot," Lee tells Gloria, who is greatly offended.

Rosario La Mata has rounded up a gang of vigilantes who are wreaking havoc on the banana plantation, threatening to ruin Case's crop and destroy the lives of the men who work there.

Meanwhile, Gloria still has feelings for Nick, and she wants him to take her to America with him after the job is over.  Nick keeps putting her off, not wanting to commit himself.

While Nick is busy sorting out his love life and getting the banana plantation into shape, Rosario is hard at work thwarting all of his plans.  He blows up his access to town and even has two spies working on Nick's plantation staff, who are meant to lure Nick to a place where Rosario can kill him.

Lee and Gloria are still at it, verbally sparring with each other any time they are within each other's sights.  "Oh, I get it.  You've finally stepped down to your own level," Gloria tells Lee, who retorts, "That's still three floors above you."

Rosario succeeds in getting into a gunfight with Nick, but Nick surprises him by showing up in an unexpected location.  Nick is wounded, but Rosario is eventually caught and handed over to the proper authorities.

And Nick decides to stay in Central America and make a life with Lee.  The two kiss and embrace.

Cast rundown:

   James Cagney...............................Nick Butler

   Ann Sheridan................................Lee Donley

   Pat O'Brien...................................Steve Case

   Andy Devine.................................Wally Davis

   Helen Vinson.................................Gloria Anderson

   George Tobias...............................Rosario La Mata

   George Reeves..............................Sancho

   Frank Puglia..................................Juan Rodriguez

   Grady Sutton.................................Sam

And that's it for Torrid Zone.  Though he is top-billed in the film, James Cagney doesn't appear until twenty-two minutes into the movie.  In the film, Ann Sheridan is referred to as someone who has a lot of "oomph".  In real life, Sheridan was nicknamed "the oomph girl" in the late 1930s, a moniker for which she did not care.  This film was nominated for inclusion on the list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.

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